Minnewaska State Park gets $1.05 million for visitor center

WAWARSING, N.Y. -- Minnewaska State Park will get $1.05 million toward renovations needed to convert the Phillips House into a visitor center and office space.

The funding was announced in a press release by the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation last week as part of $89 million being provided through the New York Works program.

"Following decades of deferred maintenance and under-investment, New York's state parks are on an exciting upswing," said Erik Kulleseid, director of the Open Space Institute's Alliance for New York State Parks. "The second installment of NY Works funding is a critical acknowledgment that New York's state parks are important recreational, cultural and economic destination.."

Minnewaska officials in 2009 added use of the Phillips House to the park comprehensive plan, which states the building would become a "sustainable, environmentally sensitive structure" used to provide information about the 21,000-acre preserve.

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"The main preserve office and visitor center will be located in the former Phillips residence atop the cliffs overlooking Lake Minnewaska," officials wrote. "The interior of the structure will be reconfigured from its use as a private residence to a functional public space and office space. Sustainable design practices will be implemented within this structure."

Information on the Minnewaska. org website notes the Phillips House was obtained by the state in 1987 following the conclusion of eminent domain procedures. The $3 million acquisition, which included Lake Minnewaska, came following years of court battles that had former owner Ken Phillips accumulating $750,000 in debt while seeking to construct resorts on the site.

Agreements with the state ultimately allowed Phillips and his wife Lucille to use the 8,000-square-foot house until they died. She died in December 2000 and he died in July 2001.

"The building is still currently set up as a residence," Assistant Park Manager Jorge Gomes said.

"We use the garage for some equipment storage," he said. "This time of year we store cross-country snow grooming equipment in there."

Gomes said the house consists of a basement, main floor and an attic.

"We're probably looking at years, not months to renovate here," he said. "Where going to be looking at ... making it a little be more hospitable to the public and comply with any (Americans with Disabilities) access rules that we need to work into the design."